My latest for SpaceNews. The EU has decided to delay the release of some Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery over the Gulf of Oman by 24 hours. The decision was made following a request from the US.

Q: Why is this not all over the news? A: Because "they" want to bury $SPCX At least SpaceNews reported it. See excerpt below they sent to my email. The Space Force selected SpaceX for 18 Falcon 9 launches to deploy military satellite constellations. The Space Force announced Wednesday it awarded two task orders valued at $1.6 billion for the launches, scheduled to take place through the end of 2027 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launches will support the Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, which includes the Space Development Agency's Tracking Layer of missile-tracking satellites; the Space Data Network Backbone, an optically linked communications network being built by SpaceX; and the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program, another SpaceX-led constellation intended to track aircraft and other airborne targets from orbit. The launch award is the largest publicly disclosed order under National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1, the contract the Space Force uses for lower-risk national security missions.

⚡Funding Brief⚡ 500 satellites a year by 2027, from a newly opened San Jose factory — that is the manufacturing target satellite maker Muon Space has raised $250 million to pursue. The Mountain View-based company has closed a $250 million Series C led by Eclipse Capital, with participation from Galvanize, Google, Salesforce Ventures, Wellington Management, I Squared Capital and Woven Capital. The financing brings Muon's total equity funding to more than $386 million. Reuters and SpaceNews, each citing a source familiar with the transaction, reported that the round valued Muon at about $1.5 billion. Muon declined to comment on the figure, so the valuation should be treated as reported rather than company-confirmed. If confirmed, it would put Muon among 2026's newly minted space unicorns. Muon's model is vertically integrated: it designs and manufactures satellite platforms, integrates payloads, operates missions, and supplies the associated software and data layer for satellite constellations. A few indicators to watch: Muon reports a 100% mission-success rate across 11 spacecraft launched to date. External reporting says seven of those spacecraft were launched in the first half of 2026, across six launches. More than 50 customer satellites are in development, indicating a substantial production pipeline across commercial, government and international sovereign customers. Its San Jose facility is designed to reach production capacity of up to 500 satellites annually by 2027 — ten times its previous capacity — not immediately. Google and Salesforce Ventures joined the round, although neither company's strategic rationale or any commercial partnership linked to the investment has been publicly disclosed. The key question is execution: Muon now has to translate early flight heritage and its growing customer pipeline into repeatable, high-volume satellite manufacturing while maintaining mission reliability. Source: Muon Space official announcement, Reuters, SpaceNews

BREAKING: SpaceX’s Starlink Space Safety platform is seeing growing adoption across the satellite industry. At a SmallSat meeting yesterday, SpaceX revealed that more than 30 satellite operators shared flight-path data for over 700 objects in the previous week, up from the 500+ objects disclosed in early June. SpaceX says it has no plans to monetize the service: “We do satellite internet. We’re not trying to make money off SSA.”, as per SpaceNews. SpaceX is using Starlink’s scale and technology to provide free safety infrastructure for the wider satellite industry and help keep low Earth orbit safer for everyone.

Directive 8020 Reviews are up Highs • ButWhyTho: 9.5/10 • LootLevelChill: 9.5/10 • GameSpew: 9/10 • TheSixthAxis: 9/10 • GAMINGbible: 9/10 • CGMagazine (CGM): 8.5/10 • PC Gamer: 8.5/10 • IGN: 8/10 (calls it “a step forward in spectacle and storytelling”) • GameRant: 8/10 • PSLS / GameReactor: 8/10 • Shacknews: ~8/10 Mid / Mixed: • GameWatcher: 7/10 • GamingTrend: 7.5/10 • DualShockers: 7/10 • TheGamer: 7/10 (or ~3.5/5) • PSU / Day One: 7/10 • Hobby Consolas: 76/100 Lows: • Eurogamer: 6/10 • Creative Bloq: 6/10 • GameSpot: 5/10 (“The Dark Pictures Anthology Has Never Been More Adrift”) • Game Informer: 5/10 Metacritic: ~71-72 OpenCritic: 76

007: First Light Reviews are up 10 — VGC Said it feels like the Bond game fans have been waiting for years. 10 — Gfinity Praised the story, action, and overall Bond feeling. 10 — The Guardian Loved the style, atmosphere, and writing. 10 — ComicBook Said it really feels like playing through a Bond movie. 9.5 — GamingTrend Praised the missions, gadgets, and replay value. 9 — Metro Liked the adventure feel and classic Bond vibe. 9 — DayOne Praised the stealth and pacing. 9 — Collider Called it one of the best action games this year. 9 — GameSpew Loved the mission variety and spy gameplay. 9 — Shacknews Said the mix of stealth and action works really well. 9 — ScreenRant Praised the soundtrack, visuals, and Bond atmosphere. 9 — PSX Brasil Liked the freedom during missions. 9 — GAMINGbible Called it stylish and fun from start to finish. 9 — DualShockers Praised the story, gadgets, and Bond performance. 8.5 — Checkpoint Gaming Liked the stealth gameplay but wanted more freedom. 8.5 — Press Start Praised the action and graphics but said combat gets repetitive sometimes. 8 — CGMagazine Liked the story and stealth gameplay overall. 8 — TechRadar Gaming Praised how cinematic the game feels. 8 — Eurogamer Loved the atmosphere but wanted deeper stealth systems. 8 — GameReactor Praised the locations and pacing. 8 — IGN France Said it captures the Bond feeling really well. 7 — GamesRadar+ Liked the story and presentation but thought gameplay could be deeper. MC: 88 OC: 90